With its grand, baroque buildings and centuries-old status as a European epicenter of music and culture, Vienna’s historic city center surely earned its status as a UNESCO world heritage site back in 2001. But sixteen years later, a newly-approved development project is poised to threaten the sanctity of this treasured area, bringing into question the relationships between old and new, as well as public and private spaces, in the process.

Earlier this year, Vienna’s city council approved a high-rise development project designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld and overseen by property investors WertInvest. Part of a winning proposal in a contest to redevelop the area, the new plans for Heumarkt (as the area is known locally) include luxury apartments, a hotel, and a skating rink.

The plan, which Weinfeld's firm maintains is a subtle upgrade to the area.

Rendering: Courtesy nightnurse images, New York and Zurich

However, the proposed 215-foot tower exceeds the 43-meter (141-foot) limit established by UNESCO to ensure the city center maintains its present character, which forced the organization to place Heumarkt on their world heritage in danger list. The move is a potential precursor to the more drastic measure of delisting a World Heritage Site designation, a rare event that’s only occurred twice in the organization’s history.

For what it’s worth, those involved in the project are optimistic that it brings Vienna into the future while showing proper reverence for its storied past. Weinfeld has stated that the project would be “subtle”, and WertInvest managing director Daniela Enzi believes it can satisfy all parties. “The project will be more than worthy of the confidence it has been shown in it and will contribute to consolidating Vienna's position as the most liveable city in the world,” she said.

Those words weren’t enough to satisfy UNESCO, however, which has implored the governing coalition of local green party and social democratic officials to stop all high-rise projects in Vienna and subject further proposals to a Heritage Impact Assessment. As it stands now, the city of Vienna has until February 1st, 2018 to submit a plan that complies with the heritage organization's recommendations. With Weinfeld’s project set to break ground sometime in 2020, hopefully there’s an amicable way to build for the future in a way that maintains the character of one of Europe’s cultural centers.

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